RGBHV to YPrPb hookup is not as simple as most people think... just because they are both component video formats doesn't mean you can link one to another directly.

The ATi dongle doesn't just contain electrical routing - inside is an I2C configuration chip that generates DDC (display data channel) feedback. This indicates the present of a component video device to software which in turn configures the R200 to ouput YPrPb. This is only possible because the necessary transcoding and synchronization circuitary is already there on the board (although RGB distribution/difference calculations could be done in the dongle, I'm not sure...). The R300 is slightly different in that it supports YPrPb natively - you can boot with an HDTV connected and it will detect it and switch modes off its own accord (making it pretty sweet for HTPC use etc).

I am not sure about the NV25 - if it could output YPrPb then nVidia would have released a dongle similar to ATi's by now. You can always buy a converter like this...

I guess for HDTV output i should buy (reluctantly) an ati card, since the dongle is only 50 bucks for me.. vs several hundred for the seperate RGB -> HD Component...

Though i would guess nvidia is gonna throw the hd support on thier upcomming cards...

Quote:

Originally posted by MuFu RGBHV to YPrPb hookup is not as simple as most people think... just because they are both component video formats doesn't mean you can link one to another directly.

The ATi dongle doesn't just contain electrical routing - inside is an I2C configuration chip that generates DDC (display data channel) feedback. This indicates the present of a component video device to software which in turn configures the R200 to ouput YPrPb. This is only possible because the necessary transcoding and synchronization circuitary is already there on the board (although RGB distribution/difference calculations could be done in the dongle, I'm not sure...). The R300 is slightly different in that it supports YPrPb natively - you can boot with an HDTV connected and it will detect it and switch modes off its own accord (making it pretty sweet for HTPC use etc).

I am not sure about the NV25 - if it could output YPrPb then nVidia would have released a dongle similar to ATi's by now. You can always buy a converter like this...

Actually nVIDIA has a reference design using a different Connexant TV-Out chip, which would output Y/Pr/Pb using three RCA jacks. It's just that no graphics card companies have felt the need to make a card with it yet. Probably not much of a market just yet.

I'm looking forward to finding out about their new Personal Cinema stuff. Hopefully they will try to compete with ATI's All-In-Wonder stuff with DirectX 9. nVIDIA's been teasing us with the idea of a cheap HDTV tuner card for years, but it's never materialized. I imagine they were waiting for all of the High-Def Copy Protection and digital rights management stuff to get into place. Look at how MP3's exploded and all the litigation that's ensued. I think aside from the market being small, they wanted to protect themselves. Maybe next year we'll finally see some HDTV noise out of nVIDIA.

For now ATI is the only way to get PC-to-HDTV output unless you're fortunate to have a TV that takes VGA input or the five connector RGBHV BNC jacks.

I have just purchased a D52W19 RCA 52" HDTV Compatible Monitor. I already had a MSI FX5200-TD128 with DVI-I output. I purchased a cable ($70.00) to connect the computer to the TV hoping to watch all of the stuff I have on the computer on the 52 inch TV. The problem is the picture is not all it could be. I have ghosting from text and the video does not fit on the screen properly and I cannot access all of the buttons like (Start). Is there something that I am missing? I am using the latest drivers from Nvidia 61.77_win2kxp and Windows XP Media Centre. Please help the wife is going to kill me soon for buying the TV and not being able to do this which is what we wanted to do. I am also not able to do much adjusting as this makes the screen completely unusable. Gotta fix this and I know someone else must have run into this already.

Try using the new 66.31 drivers if you can, or PowerStrip. I have a Sony KV36HS500, 36" crt tube with 1080i/Hi-Scan. I tried doing 1080i/720p output via DVI-D -> DVI-HDTV and 61.77 and it didn't work fine at all. I'm going to try the 66.31 drivers soon, as I heard those have good HDTV support. I just use a DVI cable, since my TV has a DVI-HDTV port at the back. This is on a 6800gt btw.

This is killing me. So many of us have the older HDTV sets which do not support DVI nor HDMI inputs, and we need the Component inputs.

It appears I'm stuck with the ATI solution unless I shell out 200 bucks for a transcoder, which will be useless in a few years anyways if indeed nvidia cards may start supporting component out natively.

I just spent 200 bucks on a component video switch and another 100 bucks on component cables. Now I need to upgrade my video card and this is getting out of hand quickly.

When will a vendor use this other reference design with component output, or will they ever? if most new hdtvs are shipping now with DVI outputs then perhaps it will never transpire. But if I buy the transcoder then the vendors start including component support, I'm out 200 bucks. So the real question is, does anybody have any info on when or if an nvidia-based card supporting component outputs on-the-card will appear???

Or know of some good deal on a transcoder. I hate the idea that I'm spending more on cables and connections than on the components they connect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi Dwight

Actually nVIDIA has a reference design using a different Connexant TV-Out chip, which would output Y/Pr/Pb using three RCA jacks. It's just that no graphics card companies have felt the need to make a card with it yet. Probably not much of a market just yet.

I'm looking forward to finding out about their new Personal Cinema stuff. Hopefully they will try to compete with ATI's All-In-Wonder stuff with DirectX 9. nVIDIA's been teasing us with the idea of a cheap HDTV tuner card for years, but it's never materialized. I imagine they were waiting for all of the High-Def Copy Protection and digital rights management stuff to get into place. Look at how MP3's exploded and all the litigation that's ensued. I think aside from the market being small, they wanted to protect themselves. Maybe next year we'll finally see some HDTV noise out of nVIDIA.

For now ATI is the only way to get PC-to-HDTV output unless you're fortunate to have a TV that takes VGA input or the five connector RGBHV BNC jacks.

I can't believe this. I just bought ATI's DVI-HDTV converter. When I set it up to my television, I couldn't read anything but huge print in 1080i mode. I sent ATI an e-mail about this and got an automated response telling me to reinstall the drivers. Then, I sent another response detailing the problem, complaining that the first response didn't address any of the issues I outlined. Then, I got the exact same e-mail in response! I called up their customer care, was on hold for twenty minutes (listening to how I should hang up and reinstall the drivers after visiting their web site), then finally spoke to a man who told me that at 1080i, you can't read small print. I asked him why I could when viewing HD broadcasts. He hemmed and hawed for a bit, sputtering out nonsense, then circumspectly told me that the adapter doesn't really support 1080i. He said that it only supports a 'fake 1080i.' I asked him to send me an e-mail stating that. He refused. Then I asked for his name and customer ID number and he hung up on me. I highly recommend not buying this product. I additionally hope no one viewing this ever has the misfortune of dealing with ATI customer service. Infuriating.